E‐commerce and globalization: an exploratory study of Egypt

2007 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 196-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Elbeltagi
Keyword(s):  
Marketing Strategy ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Shopping Behavior ◽  
Cross Culture ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to address how cultures could affect the way different people use the internet. The study showed that there is a great potential for e‐commerce in Egypt in particular and Arab world in general. However, there are many challenges, where people are used to paying cash for what they buy, the credit or debit card as an instrument for buying things is not readily acceptable by public Egyptians.Design/methodology/approachThis is an exploratory study based on analysing secondary data and observation. The reason for choosing this approach in this stage of research is the lack of research that deals with this particular issue in the chosen case study.FindingsThe results showed that e‐commerce has some merit in targeting global customers, if it considers cultural differences when adopting and applying global marketing strategy. Although there are many governmental initiatives to adopt ICT on all levels in Egypt, the reality still far behind and there is still a lot need to be done from both government and private sector to gain the benefits required. Research limitations/implications–Limitations include the use of secondary data and observation as the research method in this study. Empirical data and sampling will be required for further research. A comprehensive cross culture study among Arab countries and how a framework of culture could affect the online shopping behavior will be required for further research. Managerial implications are discussed with respect to formulating suitable marketing strategy to fit with the cultural differences of the Middle Eastern courtiers especially the language, values and religion.Originality/valueProvides insights for future researchers.

scholarly journals Utilisation of zakāh and waqf fund in micro-takāful models in Malaysia: an exploratory study

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-105
Author(s):  
Said Adekunle Mikail ◽  
Muhammad Ali Jinnah Ahmad ◽  
Salami Saheed Adekunle
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Resources ◽  
Economic Support ◽  
Form Part

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the utilisation of both zakāh and waqf fund as external resources to ensure micro-takāful services are delivered to underserved communities in an effective and sustainable manner. It also addresses Sharīʿah issues related to the zakāh- and waqf-based model. Design/methodology/approach The study is a qualitative-based research. It uses both focus group and content analysis approach to gather primary data and identify and interpret relevant secondary data and Sharīʿah concepts in developing the zakāh- and waqf-based micro-takāful model. Findings It is discovered throughout the investigation of attributes of beneficiaries of zakāh and waqf institutions as well as micro-takāful scheme that all share commonalities in terms of social securities and socio-economic support to low-income households in societies. The study also finds that the disintegration of zakāh and waqf which form part of the Islamic ecosystem from the micro-takāful model makes it less effective and sustainable. Originality/value This study appears as a primitive attempt to discuss and develop a zakāh and waqf-based micro-takāful model with reference to Malaysian jurisdiction.

An empirical investigation on the impact of marketing strategy style on firm performance: evidence from public firms in China

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Wang ◽  
Liqiong Liu ◽  
Yu Feng
Keyword(s):  
Marketing Strategy ◽  
Corporate Performance ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
Research Issues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Firms ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe mechanism of marketing strategy style and its impact on firms are research issues received wide attention. In particular, the aggressive style of marketing strategy has been chosen by many companies, but recent studies have shown that it has a negative effect on corporate performance. This leads to the core issue of this paper – does the aggressive style of marketing strategy always had a negative impact on corporate performance? Are there any factors that can alleviate this negative impact?Design/methodology/approachBased on the resource-based theory and agency theory, this paper takes the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) listed companies as the research objects, collects secondary data and conducts the research by regression model.FindingsThe empirical research shows that: (1) the aggressive style of marketing strategy significantly and negatively affects the performance of firm; (2) the resource constraint can moderate the main effect and resource control play a weak adjustment role.Practical implicationsIn practice, this paper confirms the adverse impact of aggressive style of marketing strategy on the performance of listed companies on GEM and inspires the industry to strengthen the control and supervision of marketing resources.Originality/valueThis paper makes up for the research gap in the field of cross-research in finance and marketing theoretically.

Analyzing and Developing Corporate Social Responsibility

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-40
Author(s):  
Badreya Al-Jenaibi
Keyword(s):  
Public Good ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Corporate Philanthropy ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
The Public ◽  
Stakeholder Interests

CSR is the obligation of businessmen to follow specific policies for making decisions or to do certain actions with the purpose of recognizing the need of society or any ethical factor to be followed in the entity. It is also for mangers to have responsibility for the public good, where that includes investigating whether the action is effective and contributes in promoting the public good and for advancing the basic societal beliefs to manage and contribute in its stability, harmony and strength. Corporate managers are normally appointed as being public trustees. The UAE offers insights into CSR because other Middle Eastern countries have not adopted the concept as quickly as the UAE. One indication of CSR in the UAE is its transparent firms. This article explores the current stage of CSR implementation in Arab countries, with special attention given to the UAE. An in-depth study was conducted to explore CSR implementation among local managers. Primary data from 198 questionnaires and case studies were analyzed to obtain valuable insights into the current state of CSR in the UAE. Key concepts are highlighted regarding the definition and practices of CSR in the UAE. Secondary data from both western and eastern cultures was also analyzed to examine the extent of adoption and adaptation of CSR and corporate philanthropy from multiple perspectives. Findings suggest all organizations, both local and multinational, must consider environmental and stakeholder interests in order to become global. Some confusion appears to exist between the concept of philanthropy and CSR. Some CSR highlighted by firms includes following regulations effectively and efficiently, adopting environmentally friendly business processes, organizing seminars, and creating awareness of the concept among peers. Although CSR is maturing in the Middle East, UAE firms need to improve CSR to compete with the practices that have become the CSR standard in western countries. In the last few years, governments and local organizations have strictly enforced business ethics and environmental regulations to support the growth of CSR in the country.

scholarly journals Doing favors in the Arab world

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 916-943 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ron Berger ◽  
Ram Herstein ◽  
Daniel McCarthy ◽  
Sheila Puffer
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Sensitive Information ◽  
Social Business ◽  
Palestinian Authority ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Culturally Based

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of Wasta, a culturally based system of social networks of exchange among in-group members in the Arab world, as exemplified by three groups of Arabs in the Palestinian Authority, and then compares it to Guanxi (China), Sviazi (Russia) and Jaan–Pechaan (India). The use of social networks is a common business model around the world to accomplish business objectives and is especially relied upon in emerging economies where formal institutions are weak. It is important to understand the commonalities and differences in the use of reciprocity in various cultural contexts in order to conduct business effectively. The aim of the paper is to illustrate the structure of Wasta and how it is perceived and constructed among three Arab social groups, and then compare and contrast it with social business models in three other high context cultures. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative approach based on interviews to better understand the relationships involved. Findings The findings provide the foundation for a number of critical insights for non-Arab managers seeking to do business in the Arab world. For international managers to conduct business successfully, it is essential to understand how Wasta works, and establish relationships with members of influential social networks by building trust over time such that they create Wasta for themselves and indirectly for their firms. Using Wasta in the Arab world, as noted above, is similar to doing business successfully in other emerging economies such as using Sviazi in Russia (McCarthy and Puffer, 2008; Berger et al., 2017), Guanxi in China (Yen et al., 2011) and Jaan–Pechaan in India (Bhattacharjee and Zhang, 2011). The authors feel more confident in stating this view after comparing Wasta with these other three concepts, and noting that all four are built upon the same fundamental constructs. Research limitations/implications The authors recognize that the study is limited in terms of the geographical sample since it does not include any non-Palestinians, although the managers the authors sampled came from various regions in the Palestinian authority. Additionally, Palestinian managers are highly educated and mobile, and can be found in many other Arab countries working in managerial positions (Zineldin, 2002), thus potentially broadening the generalizability of the findings. Nonetheless, the samples would be called ones of convenience rather than randomly drawn from the three groups, since the latter would be extremely difficult to execute not only in the Palestinian Authority but in most of the Arab world due to the culturally based reluctance to provide sensitive information to those outside one’s network. Despite the difficulties that might be involved in exploring such culturally sensitive issues as the authors did in this study, the benefits in knowledge gained can be of significant importance to the study of international business in emerging and transition economies. Originality/value Little research has focused on the use of Wasta in the Arab world, a gap which this paper addresses. The authors do so by analyzing the views of Wasta held by three important groups – leaders, business people and students. While each type of reciprocity has its own unique characteristics, the authors focus on three interrelated constructs that have been found to underlie the use of reciprocity in various cultures. In the Arab world, these are Hamola, which incorporates reciprocity; Somah, that incorporates trust; and Mojamala, which incorporates empathy through social business networks.

Stigma on mental illness in the Arab world: beyond the socio-cultural barriers

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 285-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Merhej
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Mental Illness Stigma ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Research on mental illness stigma in the Arab world has traditionally focused on socio-cultural barriers that deprive persons with mental illness from their fundamental human right for privacy and informed consent. The purpose of this paper is to address the question whether or not mental health legislations in a number of Arab countries effectively safeguard the human rights of people with mental illness and protect them from stigmatizing and discriminatory practices. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative review of literature was performed over two rounds of search, targeting published research on mental illness stigma in the Arab world from year 2000 until now and existing national mental health legislations in the Arab world, using English and Arabic databases. Findings The review reveals that beyond society and culture, persistence of mental illness stigma in the Arab world may be explained by absent or inefficient monitoring mechanisms of mental health legislations and policies within the health-care setting. Although integration of mental health services into the primary health care system is being gradually implemented as a step toward de-stigmatization of mental illness, more remains to be done to change the stigmatizing behavior of the health personnel toward mental illness. Originality/value Mental health authorities in the Arab world need to be more aware of the public perceptions explaining people’s fear and reluctance to seek mental health care, so as to ensure that the control and monitoring mechanisms at both the primary and mental health care levels foster a human rights, culturally competent, patient-friendly and non-stigmatizing model of mental health care.

Women's progress in the Arab world: classroom–boardroom pipeline

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linzi J Kemp
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Company Policy ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Women On Boards ◽  
Conceptual Paper ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this conceptual paper was to investigate the contribution of the “Pipeline”, as a metaphor for building theory about Women-on-Boards (WoB) in the Arab world.Design/methodology/approachNarratives about women's progress in Arab countries were collected from a range of sources and content was analysed to identify emergent themes about pipeline.FindingsThemes were identified of the pipeline metaphor that explained phenomena and generated solutions to employ, retain and advance women to board directorships; from higher education (“bulging”/“bursting” pipeline) through employment (“leaking” pipeline) to boardroom (“blocked” pipeline).Research limitations/implicationsGeneralisation of these study results is limited by geographical context of this research. An implication is for further international studies on metaphor identification for women's progress.Practical implicationsRelevant metaphor-in-use required to generate company policy and praxis towards WoB in the Arab world.Originality/valueThe first academic study to investigate the value of metaphor for effect on women's progress in Arab countries. Novel metaphor identification is proposed to think and see women's experiences in cultural context.

Business incubators in the Arab World

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 282-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emhamad Elmansori
Keyword(s):  
Business Strategy ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Business Incubators ◽  
Business Incubation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology Industry ◽  
Catching Up ◽  
Services Innovation ◽  
Innovation And Entrepreneurship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the economic conditions and business strategy in the Arab countries are favourable for business incubation, and to suggest possible directions for establishing and implementing more business incubation in the Arab countries. Design/methodology/approach – This study adopts quantitative strategy and uses a snowball approach for the distribution of designed questionnaire to the incubation units in Jordan and the UAE. Findings – The findings of the research contribute to the literature of business support services, innovation and entrepreneurship development, which enhances the knowledge and skills within the incubation units. Practical implications – The implementation and development of business incubators (BIs) is a key requirement for the high technology industry. As developing countries, Arab countries have to make efforts to accelerate the birth and growth of incubators, aim of catching up with technologically more advanced countries. Originality/value – The study ensures the acceleration of successful development of young entrepreneurs and their businesses in the Arab countries through the establishment and implementation directives for BIs.

scholarly journals Telemedicine in Arab Countries: Innovation, Research Trends, and Way Forward

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Waqas ◽  
Shariq Mehmood ◽  
Arwah Muhammad Jawwad ◽  
Bradley Pittam ◽  
Shantanu Kundu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Research ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Total Yield ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Global Context ◽  
Innovation Research ◽  
Drexel University ◽  
User Friendly

Background: The progress and innovation in telemedicine within the Middle Eastern countries have not been heavily monitored. Therefore, the present study aims to analyze the scholarly work conducted in the Arab world, using reproducible statistical and scientometric techniques.Methods: An electronic search of Web of Science (core database) had been conducted through use of an extensive search strategy comprising of keywords specific to the Arab region, EMRO countries, telehealth, medical conditions, and disorders. A total yield of 1,630 search results were processed, indexed through July 7, 2020. CiteSpace (5.7.R1, Drexel University, Pennsylvania, USA) is a Java-based application, a user-friendly tool for conducting scientometric analyses.Results: The present analyses found a lack of innovation in the field of digital health in the Arab countries. Many gaps in research were found in Arab countries, which will be discussed subsequently. Digital health research was clustered around themes of big data and artificial intelligence; a lack of progress was seen in telemedicine and digital health. Furthermore, only a small proportion of these publications had principal or corresponding authors from Arab countries. A clear disparity in digital health research in the Arab world was evident after comparing these insights with our previous investigation on telemedicine research in the global context.Conclusion: Telemedicine research is still in its infancy in the Middle Eastern countries. Recommendations include diversification of the research landscape and interdisciplinary collaborations in this area.

A model of mobile payment usage among Arab consumers

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 1213-1234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reem Ramadan ◽  
Jawdat Aita
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Integrative Model ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Mobile Payment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of perceived satisfaction with mobile payment applications based on use experience, and subsequent stated expectations on brand loyalty and future use behavior using a theory-based research integrative model of factors that influence Arabs’ intentions to use mobile payment application(s). Design/methodology/approach A conceptual model was developed using the mixed research method approach. The focus group approach was used for the qualitative study and structural equation modeling for the quantitative study. Primary data were collected online. Participants were 305 Arab consumers from nine countries in the Middle East. Findings Satisfaction with the quality of mobile payment application(s) increased use experience and enhanced consumers’ expectations, which in turn positively affected loyalty and purchase intentions. Research limitations/implications The study encompassed mobile payment application(s) in nine countries rather than focusing on one market, or on one product type and business. The paper did not perform a comparative study between sampled Arab countries, but rather it sees all countries and respondents just as Arabs. Practical implications Service providers should build mobile application(s) based on the features of usability, availability, reliability, adaptability, accessibility, responsiveness and security. Originality/value This study is one of the first studies that empirically examines mobile payment consumer’s usage behavior from nine countries of the Arab world where there is scarce research on the topic in the region.

scholarly journals When technological savviness overcomes cultural differences: millennials in global virtual teams

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-303
Author(s):  
Andres Velez-Calle ◽  
Misha Mariam ◽  
Maria Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez ◽  
Alfredo Jimenez ◽  
Julia Eisenberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Global Virtual Teams ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type

Purpose There is a generalized belief that cultural differences can have more negative consequences than benefits within the international business (IB) literature. This study argues that cultural differences are not perceived as constrains in millennial global virtual teams (GVTs). Additionally, using the theory of cooperation and competition and the motivated information processing perspective, the purpose of this paper is to uncover the process by which millennials working in GVTs address various challenges to ensure effective functioning and accomplishment of desired team outcomes. Design/methodology/approach This paper analyzes a data set of 503 project journals from the global enterprise experience, a virtual team competition. It uses qualitative content analysis tools and secondary data sources. Findings The authors find that for millennials, cross-cultural issues are not the predominant challenge when working in GVTs, unlike the prevailing understanding in the IB literature. This is because contrary to expectations, cross-cultural problems are often not experienced, while other team phenomena become more relevant, such as interpersonal and task-based issues. In addition, the paper describes how members of GVTs apply distinct challenge reconstruction and solution generation cognitive schemes to deal with both, expected and unexpected challenges. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on virtual teams by identifying how millennials and post-millennials deal with the challenges embedded in the GVT interaction context by simplifying the unfamiliarity associated with the broader context rather than addressing each issue in isolation. Finally, the paper elaborates on factors that highlight the positive outcomes of multicultural teams while making cultural differences less salient in contemporary GVT contexts.

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